A two-month paving project is scheduled to begin Wednesday on parts of Gene Autry Trail and East Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, and drivers should prepare themselves for traffic delays.

Work is set to take place on Palm Canyon west of Golf Club Drive, before moving north on Gene Autry to just past Ramon Road, said Joy Sepulveda, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Transportation.

Her agency oversees that portion of Highway 111, which was re-routed years ago up Gene Autry and west onto Vista Chino before reconnecting to North Palm Canyon Drive.

The paving project will take place 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. weeknights and traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction, Sepulveda said.

The work could affect thousands of drivers. According to the Coachella Valley Association of Government’s 2013 traffic survey, 22,000 to 25,200 vehicles use Gene Autry between Ramon and East Palm Canyon on a daily basis.

“I guess it needs to be done, but I doubt people are going to be happy while work takes place,” Palm Springs resident Justin Mann, 60, said while shopping at The Springs shopping center at Ramon and Gene Autry.

“Traffic’s busy as is. It’ll be worst with lane closures.”

CalTrans officials encourage drivers to use alternate routes during the project. The nearest roads are Golf Club to the east and El Cielo Road to the west of Gene Autry.

People who live off of Gene Autry, however, have their own alternate routes.

“We know how to get by without using the big roads,” said Palm Springs resident Natalie Herman, 46. “That (project) won’t affect us at all.”